


Strange Trails

by warm_or_cold



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Love Triangle, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warm_or_cold/pseuds/warm_or_cold
Summary: you wake up in Mos Pelgo, alone in the Marshal's bed. Vanth helps you find your way around town until a mysterious stranger appears.
Relationships: Cobb Vanth/Reader, Cobb Vanth/You, Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You, The Mandalorian/Reader, The Mandalorian/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> spoilers for The Mandalorian, especially S2E1. Vanth is probs in love with you but Mando steals your attention. this is part 1 of ??

The golden light of the twin suns flickered across your closed eyes. You ran a sleepy hand across your face as you slowly awakened. Sighing heavily, you began to register the warmth of the room surrounding you. Lazily rolling over into your pillow, you breathed in a musky scent that caused your eyes to go wide and a small gasp to escape your lips. 

“Kriff,” you swear as you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, reminding you that you’re in the marshal’s bed.

Quickly rising, you pull on the black pants you’d been wearing the night before and tuck your tunic into the waistband. Well, not _your_ tunic exactly, but the clean one Vanth had loaned you to sleep in. A clinking sound outside the door let you know that he must be awake too. You took a deep breath to stave off your embarrassed nerves and pulled the door open. 

Turning the corner, you saw Vanth standing in a small kitchen, facing away from you as he stirred something delicious on the stove. He cocked his head slightly at your entrance. 

“Mornin’ sunshine,” he smiled crookedly in your direction. “Take a seat, it’s almost ready.” 

You slide into one of the chairs at the table in the corner as Cobb moves around the small room before setting down two incredible smelling plates and taking his seat across from you.

“How ya feeling this morning, darlin’” He asked before taking a bite of what appeared to be eggs of some sort. 

You instantly blushed, remembering the incident from what was only a few hours ago. “I’m fine. Just feeling a little embarrassed, I guess.”

He chuckled, “It’s not every day we get a newcomer out here, especially on the same day we get a visit from that _dank_ dragon.” 

You smiled as he continued, “you’re lucky you only got knocked out. If you’d been a little slower runnin’ from the beast, I wouldn’t have had the honor of having you as my house guest.”

You burst out with a pitiful laugh, “you’re right. I just have to remember the next time a krayt dragon is chasing me, I need to run _through_ the doorway and not _into_ it.”

You both finished your breakfast with small talk about Mos Pelgo and your new position at the school. You’d only been living on Tatooine for a few months, unfortunately stuck waitressing at the Mos Eisley cantina. When you heard of a teaching position available not far off, the opportunity sounded too good to miss. 

Vanth stood, taking your empty plate over to the sink. “What do you say we get you introduced to Miss. CT?” 

You spent the remainder of the morning getting to know the town’s primary teacher, a protocol droid affectionately known as Miss. CT-6. She was nice and efficient but not exactly the most enthusiastic teacher. As she promptly explained her current schedule and strategies, Vanth politely leaned against the wall, smirking as you struggled to look attentive. 

Your mind drifted away from the droid’s monotone words as you glanced over to the marshal. His kind, gentlemanly way put you at ease but something about that smile caused your heart to skip. You couldn’t help but feel curious about the beat-up armor he wore uncomfortably over his shirt, helmet tucked neatly under his arm.

The Marshall pushed off the wall, “alright Miss. CT, I think our new teacher might need some lunch.” He gently grabbed your arm, pulling you away from the droid. 

As soon as you were out of earshot from the schoolhouse, he let out a laugh. “I just couldn’t let you die of boredom any longer.” You both laughed as you approached the cantina. Suddenly, Vanth halted in his tracks, pulling you to a stop next to him.

At first you didn’t understand what was happening, your eyes searching frantically before landing on the silver speeder parked outside on the otherwise empty street. 

Vanth slipped the helmet on quickly, “stay here.” 

You watched silently as he stepped confidently up to the entrance of the cantina. Another voice, muffled by the short distance, spoke inside. Your heart was beating loudly. Two days in this town and you’d already seen more excitement than you had in the last year. You strained to hear more. Ignoring the marshal’s command, you stepped quietly to the side of the cantina’s entrance without being seen.

“Right here then,” you heard Cobb ask. “Right here,” replied the second man. You strained to see inside the doorway but before you could move, the ground began to shake. 

Your blood ran cold as you realized it was the same vibrations you’d felt the night before. The krayt dragon had returned. Fearing the monster more than you feared Vanth’s reaction to you disobeying him, you quickly jumped up the steps and slammed into metal.

“Dank Farrik! _Again_?!” You shouted before realizing that instead of running into the doorway, you’d run into a man. He tightly gripped the sides of your arms to stop you from falling backwards. You had just a moment to register that he was wearing the same armor as Vanth before he jerked you behind him as the dragon surfaced. 

The monster was making its way through the center of town, rattling the buildings as it went. You watched in horror behind the stranger’s shoulder as the dragon’s enormous mouth jutted out of the sand, swallowing a bantha whole. You slapped a hand over your mouth, unable to believe what you’d just seen.

“Maybe we can work somethin’ out,” Cobb stated flatly before walking back into the cantina leaving you and the stranger standing in shock.


	2. Little Creature

You glanced up at the armor-clad man as he continued to stare out after the krayt dragon’s trail. Quite a bit taller than you and covered in metal and weapons, he should have been threatening but for some reason, he wasn’t. You turned your gaze away from the stranger and back into the cantina. 

Vanth was helping Weequay set one of the tables upright as you spotted movement down by the bar. A little green creature poked its head and abnormally large ears out of a pot. You felt yourself melt at the sight of its wide eyes looking straight into your own.

“Hello, little one,” you cooed, crouching down with your hand outstretched, “are you okay?”

The creature babbled a short response, tilting the pot forward. You quickly caught it before the whole thing tumbled over onto the ground. Again, its wide eyes looked up at you, cooing happily in your lap. For a moment you’d forgotten about the others. You glanced back and saw the stranger staring at you, at least as far as you could tell, through the impenetrable black visor of his helmet.

Cobb gave you a meaningful glance before walking toward the man. “Let’s talk,” you heard him say as the two men disappeared through the doorway.

You kept an eye on the little creature as you continued helping Weequay pick up around the cantina. By the time the two men returned, you were leaned back at one of the tables while the creature slept cradled in your arms. 

Cobb grinned warmly, “looks like somebody made a friend.”

You smiled down at the small, quietly snoring child and then back up to the stranger, “is he your son?” 

The man shifted his weight from one leg to the other, “he’s my responsibility.” 

You caught an underlying tone in his voice but couldn’t quite place it. Carefully standing so as not to wake the child, you walked over to the stranger. You introduced yourself as you held the child toward him, looking up at the blank helmet, where you guessed his eyes would be.

“Mando,” he replied, never looking away from you as he took the child into his arms.

“Oh,” you breathed as your mind suddenly filled with forgotten knowledge. _Mandalorians_. You had heard of them before but only that they were skilled warriors and not much else. You’d never even known what they looked like until now.

Cobb cleared his throat and you both turned in his direction, “we should probably head out.”

“Where are we going,” you asked, having obviously missed something.

“Sorry, darlin’,” Vanth looked at you, seemingly genuinely disappointed, “it’s probably best that you stay put.”

Before you could respond, Mando replied, “I’ll need someone to watch the kid while we take out the dragon.”

Vanth frowned, “why don’t you just leave him here?”

“Where I go, he goes,” Mando responded firmly. 

Vanth seemed to understand that there was no point in arguing as he sighed heavily, looking in your direction, “alright, you’re riding with me.”

Your arms were clasped tightly around the marshal’s waist as his speeder zipped across the desert, sending dust and sand flying out behind you. He’d loaned you a black bandana that you had pulled up to your eyes, barely able to see. In fact, all you could really focus on was the Mandalorian, shining under the light of the twin suns as his speeder coasted to your right. 

You’d listened to Vanth explain to Mando how he came into possession of his set of Mandalorian armor and then sat in silence as the two speeders raced across the dunes. Your eyes wandered over the smooth lines of his armor and you couldn’t help but wonder about the face beneath that helmet. 

You found yourself lost in thoughts of the Mandalorian as you approached an oncoming canyon. Suddenly, a strange growling caused Vanth to slam the speeder to a halt with Mando following suit.

The two men jumped from their speeders, brandishing their blasters just as a dozen feral looking beasts crawled from the rocks. Your heart raced as your eyes flicked from the vulnerable child in Mando’s satchel back to the hungry looking mouths of whatever these hideous creatures were.

You gasped as Mando lowered his blaster before letting out the same strange growling sound as you’d heard before. The hounds paused and turned curiously to him.

“What the hell are you doin’,” Vanth questioned as the Mandalorian walked past you both. Mando only motioned for him to wait as he continued to approach the beast closest to you.

He spoke softly in the growling language and knelt down as the hound rushed happily to him. You let out a loud giggle in disbelief, relieved that the apparent threat was over. It was then that a group of Tusken raiders appeared silently from behind the rocks.

Mando immediately stood and began speaking their native language. A conversation began the raiders and the Mandalorian. “Hey, partner,” Vanth sounded cautious, “you wanna tell _me_ what’s goin’ on?”

“They wanna kill the krayt dragon too,” Mando replied, glancing back at you.


	3. Glad to Be Here

Night was falling over Tatooine as the two speeders slowed to a stop near the raider’s camp. Vanth and Mando had followed the Tusken’s banthas as they guided your group back to their sprawling camp. Large huts were scattered across the smooth plateau of a rock formation. 

The Tuskens set to work lighting a campfire as others appeared throughout the rest of the village. Your guides motioned for you to join them at their fire. You sat quietly next to the marshal listening as the Mandalorian spoke to the Tuskens in their strange language. The child swirled its hands playfully in the sand, safely tucked between Mando’s feet. Cobb simply looked mystified as the Mandalorian made his way through the conversation.

One Tusken broke open what you guessed was some kind of plant and a foul, swirling odor emerged from it. Cobb regretfully took the plant as it was handed to him. Mando quickly explained that despite its smell, Vanth was meant to drink it if he wanted the Tusken’s help. 

Instead, Cobb tossed the plant into the fire and your eyes widened as an argument began to break out. Vanth was becoming increasingly annoyed with the Tuskens accusations. He stood as a raider rose before him yelling. 

You were about to grab for the child when suddenly Mando stood, shooting a stream of fire from his gauntlet. “If we fight amongst ourselves, the monster will kill us all,” he spoke firmly. 

The Tuskens stared at him for a moment before returning to their seats. The men went back and forth discussing various strategies for taking down the dragon over the next hour or two. You weren’t sure how long had passed when the raiders began to leave one by one, heading to their huts for the night. 

Vanth stood, stretching his arms with a grunt, “I guess we outta turn in too. It won’t do us much good if we find the dragon and can’t keep our eyes open.”

You shot a glance up to the Mandalorian who had yet to move and then back to the ground, “I may stay by the fire a few more minutes, it’s getting pretty cold out here.”

The marshal searched your face carefully for a moment, “alright, well I’ll see you in the morning.” You watched as he strode toward the speeders, unloading a couple makeshift sleeping mats.

Now that everyone was gone but for you, the Mandalorian, and the little sleeping creature, the silence seemed like a vacuum. Every crackle of the fire sounded ten times as loud as you franticly tried to think of something, _anything_ to say. Much to your surprise, Mando spoke first.

“You’re cold,” he asked softly.

You laughed a bit, “I’m always cold. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”

He stood, undoing the cape at his neck before closing the gap between you. Your heart was pounding as he moved in one fluid motion to drape it over your shoulders, the collar still warm from having been tucked against his neck. 

“Thank you,” you looked up at him intently as he stood over you. He nodded and sat back down, slightly closer to you than before. The child continued to sleep peacefully, curled against the warm sand. 

After a beat, you spoke again, “I’ve never met a Mandalorian before.” 

Looking up, he asked, “what do you think so far?”

“Well,” you grinned, “you’re pretty shiny.”

Your reply must have caught him off guard as he let out a short chuckle through the modulator of his helmet, “that’s true, I guess.”

The momentum of the conversation pushed you forward, “can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” he replied, not unfriendly.

“Why’d you agree to help kill the dragon,” you glanced at him, “you’re not from here. There’s no reason for you to put yourself at risk.”

He paused for a moment, “I made a deal with Vanth. The dragon for the armor. It goes against our creed for anyone other than a Mandalorian to wear it.”

“But you could have just taken it,” feeling courageous, you continued, “if what little I’ve heard of Mandalorians is true, he couldn’t have stopped you.”

He looked up and you stared into the darkness of his visor before he broke the tension and turned back to the fire, “I’d rather not kill if I don’t have to.”

“You must be a good man,” you spoke to the flames, “at least better than most I’ve met on this strange planet.”

“You’re not from Mos Pelgo,” he asked, seemingly surprised.

“I’m from nowhere. Some backwater planet not worth knowing,” you shook your head, “but I left there a long time ago.”

“I assumed you were with the marshal,” Mando replied, putting the slightest emphasis on “ _with_.”

“No, I’d just arrived in Mos Pelgo yesterday,” you smiled, “apparently right on time.”

The Mandalorian hummed an amused sound as the child softly snored next to his feet. 

The moonlight was bright overhead as the galaxy of stars shone through the night sky. The hazy feeling in your mind alerted you that it was probably much later than you’d thought.

“Do you even sleep,” you asked Mando directly.

That caused another stifled chuckle from him, “barely.” He stood, scooping the child off of the ground and into the crook of his arm. “Vanth was right though, we should rest.”

Standing, you reached up to slide the cape off of your shoulder when you felt his large, gloved hand envelop your own, “keep it, for the night.” 

Your heart was beating out of your chest, “you don’t need it?”

He shifted his weight, moving slightly closer, “Mandalorians don’t sleep, remember?” 

Your breath was caught until he turned away, striding toward his own speeder, cradling the child in his arms.

You watched from the campfire as Mando slumped uncomfortably against his speeder, still holding the child. He tilted his head back and stilled. You shook your head thinking, _“I guess he wasn’t kidding.”_

You walked toward where Cobb had made camp for the two of you with a small fire at your feet. He’d laid two blankets down a short distance from the Mandalorian. As you sat down, the marshal rolled onto his side, facing you.

“I thought you’d be sound asleep by now,” you remarked.

He smirked, “nah, gotta make sure that tin can kept his manners.”

You felt a hot blush envelop your cheeks, “with me?!”

Vanth laughed, turning onto his back, “have you ever seen yourself, girl?”

Unable to think of a sufficient reply, you decided to silently lay down, staring up at the sky. A shiver ran through you before you tugged the sides of the Mandalorian’s cape tighter around your body.

“I’m glad you showed up yesterday,” Vanth broke the silence, “it’s a nice change not being out here alone for once.”

You turned to see him tuck an arm behind his head, eyes closed.

“I’m glad to be here, too.”


End file.
